Technologies

Trump Media Is Testing an AI Search Engine Powered by Perplexity

The president’s media company is beta-testing Truth Search AI, but will the results lean toward conservative opinions?

President Donald Trump’s media company, Trump Media, is beta-testing a new AI search feature, Truth Search AI, on the Truth Social platform. The Florida-based company announced the news on Wednesday in a press release.

Trump Media and Technology Group is perhaps best known for its social-media program Truth Social. The company is separate from the New York-based Trump Organization.

«We’re proud to partner with Perplexity to launch our public Beta testing of Truth Social AI, which will make Truth Social an even more vital element in the Patriot Economy,» Trump Media CEO Devin Nunes said in the statement. «We plan to robustly refine and expand our search function based on user feedback as we implement a wide range of additional enhancements to the platform.»

Truth Search AI is now available on the Web version of Truth Social and will begin public beta testing on the Truth Social iOS and Android apps at an unnamed future date.

Representatives for Trump Media and Perplexity didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Will results be politically biased?

In today’s divided political landscape, one immediate concern is that a search engine from a conservative president’s media company will select only search results that favor conservative opinions.

UAE state-owned newspaper The National conducted searches using the new product and reported that the AI-generated answers, perhaps unsurprisingly, source conservative-leaning media outlets.

But 404Media was able to get some possibly surprising results. When reporters asked how the American economy is doing, the new search engine said it was «currently facing significant headwinds, with signs of slowdown.»

The media outlet pressed further, asking if the president’s international tariffs are to blame.

«Recent tariff increases in the United States have generally had a negative effect on economic growth and employment, raising costs for businesses and consumers while providing only limited benefits to some manufacturing sectors,» Truth Search AI replied.

Read more: What Is Perplexity? Here’s Everything You Need to Know About This AI Chatbot

Perplexity’s history

San Francisco-based Perplexity was founded in 2022. As CNET noted in a review, it calls itself the world’s first «answer engine,» and instead of showing a list of links, it pulls info directly from the sources and summarizes that information.

The company has made headlines for how it acquires its content. In June, the BBC threatened to sue Perplexity for unauthorized use of its content, alleging the artificial intelligence company reproduced BBC material «verbatim.»

At the time, Perplexity gave a statement to the Financial Times calling the BBC’s claims «manipulative and opportunistic» and that the broadcasting giant fundamentally doesn’t understand how the technology, internet or IP law works. Perplexity also alleged that the threat of litigation shows «how far the BBC is willing to go to preserve Google’s illegal monopoly for its own self-interest.»

As 404Media notes, Forbes, the New York Times, New York Post and the Dow Jones have all accused Perplexity of plagiarism, and News Corp’s Dow Jones & Co., which publishes the Wall Street Journal and the New York Post sued Perplexity in 2024 for copyright infringement.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Friday, Aug. 8

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for Aug. 8

Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Today’s Mini Crossword might make you hungry. I think I need to put a summer barbecue on my calendar now. The puzzle wasn’t terribly tough, but I did mess up on 8-Across for a while, which took me some time to sort out. It was kind of fun that the first three across clues all helped build a summer classic meal. Need help with the clues and answers? Read on. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

The Mini Crossword is just one of many games in The Times’ games collection. If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.

Mini across clues and answers

1A clue: Piece of bread atop 4-Across
Answer: BUN

4A clue: Yellow square atop 7-Across
Answer: CHEESE

7A clue: Offering at a summer cookout
Answer: BURGER

8A clue: Envelop and obscure
Answer: SHROUD

9A clue: Covers a tree in bathroom rolls, in a classic prank
Answer: TPS

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: Brought about
Answer: BEGOT

2D clue: Fully deplete
Answer: USEUP

3D clue: Jocks’ counterparts, stereotypically
Answer: NERDS

4D clue: «Survivor» network
Answer: CBS

5D clue: «What’d you say?»
Answer: HUH

6D clue: Make a mistake
Answer: ERR

Technologies

The Tesla Cybertruck May Have Found Its True Calling: Target Practice

The US Air Force plans to launch missiles at the controversial truck. Can we watch?

Technologies

Out of Nowhere: UFO 50 Hits Switch 2 After Indie World Reveal

No release date, no buildup, just a straight-up launch on the Switch.

Nintendo held an Indie World Showcase on Thursday to spotlight some of the indie games coming to the Switch platform. One of the surprise indie hits from last year is making the jump from PC to the Switch 2, and it’s available right now.

UFO 50, one of CNET’s best games of 2024, was the surprise from Nintendo’s Indie World Showcase Thursday, and had the additional surprise of launching after the event. It’s available to play on the Switch or the Switch 2 and costs $25.

From Mossmouth, UFO 50 is a unique indie title as it consists of 50 games done in a retro 8-bit style. These games come in a variety of genres, from platformers to shooters to RPGs. It’s a wide variety of games made by different independent developers.

While the collection of games in UFO 50 looks like something released on the NES back in the ’80s, the games have a modern feel. Some games are intended to be played solo, while others are meant to be played with others. The selection does feel random, but they’re connected by the story of a fictional game studio, UFOSoft, that created these 50 games that it never released.

Along with UFO 50, more than a dozen indie games were revealed during the showcase, including:

Is This Seat Taken?
Little Kitty, Big City
Content Warning
Ball X Pit
Ultimate Sheep Raccoon
Glaciered
Winter Burrow
Undusted: Letters from the Past
Tiny Bookshop
Caves of Qud
Strange Antiquities
Opus: Prism Peak
Go-Go Town!
Mina the Hollower
Well Dweller
Neverway
Herdling

Some games are set to come out in the coming weeks, while others will arrive in 2026.

You can buy UFO 50 for the Switch or the Switch 2 via My Nintendo Store online or the Nintendo eShop on the consoles for $25. Those who want a physical copy of the game can preorder one from Fangamer for $35.